The Forgotten Ones
by goldbear33
Summary: One planet with three hundred million people on it. Only one group of recruits left to defend it. As the covenant closes in will they survive?
1. Chapter 1

The Forgotten Ones

This is my second story. I am using this to try and give myself a break with the other one while also coming up with new ideas. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

P.S. I am looking for a beta reader or whatever to edit my work as I seem to have a problem with spelling/grammar and seem to miss a lot of mistakes.

P.P.S. Thank goodness for backspace or my stories would be an absolute nightmare to read. Anyway if you feel like your up to the job message me or review or something. Just so I know your interested.

Enjoy the story.

"Honey, the soldiers are here."

"I know sweetheart. I'm getting ready" Joseph Raslov was a thirty-five year old man who had spent many of his years as a marine. He was roughly 5'11" with dark brown hair and green eyes. He had a muscular frame because he stuck to a tight fitness regimen. Ten years after leaving service and he looked fit as ever.

He left the marines without giving it a second thought. He just wished to stay home with his wife and two beautiful children. Those were normal times, however, back before Harvest, back before the Covenant had completely destroyed entire planets. Now, in humanities darkest time, it was necessary for him to take up his arms once more and defend the entire human race from extinction. That or the local area around him.

As much as Joe wished to leave and defend Earth from the aliens he had to protect those who he loved. He took one last look at his room before he left it and closed the door. He walked down the fourteen steps that he and his children had counted so many times. At the bottom his wife was waiting with his two young children.

"Mommy, where is Daddy going?"

"He's going to go fight the monsters."

"Are they scary monsters?"

"Yes but Daddy is brave, he'll defeat them."

"Ok, bye Daddy." His daughter rushed over to him and gave him a hug.

"Bye. Honey take care."

"I will you just come home safe."

"Don't worry I'll be back before you know it." Even as he said those words he knew that he was not coming back any time soon. He walked out the front door and down the sidewalk to the waiting transport Warthog. He waved good-bye to his family as the vehicle pulled away and headed toward the base.

"Hey, Kyle Regal, demolitionist extraordinaire." The man shook Joe's hand.

"Joseph Raslov. Ten year cubicle worker." Kyle looked at him and shook his head.

"You worked at an office job. You look like you run a gym or something."

"Nah, I just like to stay in shape since my marine years."

"You too? Thirty-third west Frankov battalion."

"One twenty-second special operations unit. Warsate battle group."

"Oh, yeah over on Epsilon Erandi"

"Yeah. Spent two tours over there before I met my wife and settled down."

"It's a good thing you did. That planet no longer exists."

"Oh, wow. I hope my buddies got off in time."

"There's a chance they did. The UNSC forces on the planet manage to evacuate half the population before they even started to invade."

"I hope so." The warthog approached a walled in base that was guarded by multiple towers with machine gun turrets. The outer wall was five meters high and made of reinforced concrete. The warthog pulled up to the main gate where the driver showed the guard his ID badge. They waited for a few seconds while the guard checked with command before he waved them into the courtyard.

The large expanse of the courtyard made it idyllic for drills and other operations. There were already several hundred men getting their stuff ready to move into the barracks. The warthog stopped next to several others which had already arrived. The new recruits were standing at attention in front of the drill sergeant.

Joe and the group from his warthog jumped down and made their way to the end of the line. The sergeant watched them intently as they slowly made their way down the line.

"Move it. I didn't come here today to watch some slackers waddling around." He shove the last guy to get him moving. "Alright, welcome to Camp Wersher. Since its your first day we'll go easy on you. You only have to run three miles today. Now go." The sergeant and several other instructors ran the recruits to the track on the far east side of the courtyard.

Joe had no problem running the three miles. He kept a brisk pace and was done in under fifteen minutes. The other recruits had more trouble however. They were almost dead after the third mile. Since most of the soldiers were just regular people they weren't prepared for this type of physical exertion.

The sergeant shook his head at the recruits and turned around. Joe noticed something strange. The sergeant didn't seem to have his rank patch on. Joe was going to mention it but he remained silent. When he finally got around to ask him about it they had to leave. The instructors took the new soldiers to the barracks and gave them bunk pairings.

Joe was paired with a man named Steven Bowing. He was a 5'6" Caucasian male. He was apparently a dentist prior to getting conscripted. The man was slightly paranoid. He kept muttering something about the government getting taken by rebels. Joe thought that rebels were the least of their worries. They were fighting a numerically and technologically superior enemy and were losing badly.

Joe climbed the ladder along the bed to get to the top buck. He laid down and rested his head upon the pillow. His thoughts wandered back to his family. He thought of how his wife was probably putting the little ones to sleep. He wished that he could be back there instead of at the base, but Joe knew he was protecting them. That gave him hope for the coming days.

The next day the recruits were woken up by the horn. They all scrambled out of bed and made sure that their beds were completely clean. The sergeant walked in and eyed the soldiers. "Well come on then, we don't have all day." They made their way out to the firing range. The sergeant was tailing them, making sure that no one was lagging behind.

When they got to the firing range. There were already weapons waiting for them to use. The first soldiers got ready for the test. Joe waited for his turn to shot at the targets down range. He hoped that he could still recreate what he did when he was younger. Finally Joe got his turn. The weapons they used were mostly standard UNSC firearms, but there were some modified like the insurrectionist's as well.

Joe was starting to wonder if the UNSC troops were still on this planet. He wanted to find out so he inquired about when they would get to go off base. Unfortunately the drill instructor was not going to allow them any leave. Joe was still curious, but he wasn't expecting to get to see the governor anytime soon.

"It is necessary we have you here to train you and get you ready for combat" was the instructors response. The instructors sent them off to their respective barracks. In the middle of the night Joe and Kyle decided they were going to sneak out. They had both were going to see the capital but each had their own reasons. Joe was looking for an answer to what was going on. Kyle on the other hand just wanted to get out and go see the city for once.

They were very careful. They moved in the gaps between the spotlight patterns. They barely made it to the garage without being spotted. Joe flipped on the lights and went over to the jeep he had taken the keys for earlier that day. He hopped in the hog and started the engine. Kyle hopped in the other side.

"Hey why do you get to drive."

"Are you a trained driver?"

"Well, no"

"Have you ever been shot at while driving a vehicle?"

"I get your point"

"Well I don't" the two recruits turned around to see a tall blonde haired woman, with a gun.

"Ahhh, Jessica you see we were going to test, yeah, test the hog out and.. Ouch." Joe hit Kyle with his right arm to get him to shut up. Joe looked back at Jessica whose bright blue eyes pierced into his mind. Jessica Travic was a drill sergeant here at camp who had spent much of her time making their lives completely miserable.

"I know what you guys are doing. You're going to the capital to see what's going on."

"Well Joe is I'm going to have a night on the town."

"Shut up. At least Joe's reason is understandable. You're just lazy."

"Am not. Well, yeah"

"How about this? I let you guys off the hook, if you take me with you."

"Deal." Joe said as he put the car in drive and sped off through the garage door. The door splintered into several hundred pieces and the car came barreling on through. Joe and friends flew down the paths that criss-crossed the entire base. They took a left and found themselves barreling straight at the gate with the guards just now noticing them. Joe just pushed the accelerator harder and broke through the chain link fence. He started swerving as they made their way down the rode because the guards began shooting at them. They sped down the main road leaving camp. They sent up a plume of dust as they traveled down the dirt road.

"Heey cann you sloww dowwn a bitt?" asked Kyle who was being flung around by the bumpiness in the back.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Joe slowed down to the normal speed as he continued on down East Highway 56. The traffic was light at the wee hours of the morning which helped to lessen their worries of getting caught. Joe drove for the entire four hour ride from the base to the capital. By the time they reached the capital it was already getting light out. Joe looked toward the horizon by where the spaceport was.

Joe immediately frightened by the sight of a covenant cruiser. It had several transports already exiting its hangar. Joe jammed the accelerator to the floor and raced through traffic trying to get to the spaceport. He was amazed at how little the daily commuters actually notice on their way to work. The cruiser was practically blocking out the sun and they all just kept on going.

Kyle and Jessica noticed it too. Jessica handed Kyle an assault rifle. "I think your going to need this."

"Thanks" Kyle watched the already massive cruiser grow bigger and bigger as they approached the space port. Joe rammed the hog right through the gate and out onto the tarmac where the alien dropships were landing. Jessica got on the turret and had it spun up before she noticed something.

"Kyle put the gun down."

"Why?"

"Their friendlies, look." Joe looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough they saw a couple of Spartans getting off along with several ODSTs. They stopped short of all the military members that had gathered to "welcome the new arrivals."

Joe and his two companions jumped off the warthog and made their way over to the troops. They squeezed their way to the front to see the Spartans being taken away to go see the governor. "You guys stay here I'm going to follow them." Joe followed behind the Spartans as they made their way into the space port.

"Well what do you want to do?" asked Kyle.

"I don't know. How about we ask these guys where they came from?"

"Good idea." The two of them strode over to the nearest ODST who had just gotten done talking to someone else.

"Corporal."

"How's it going recruits?"

"We're doing well. We just wondered, what planet did you guys come from?"

The corporal stood there for a second trying not to think about what had happened so recently. "We came from Reach." He walked away slowly to the group of ODSTs.

"That means that… Reach. Its gone." Jessica started to cry.

Kyle held her. "It's ok. It's ok. There not going to come here." She turned and punched him across the jaw.

"I had family there you asshole." She ran away toward the inside of the spaceport. Kyle deciding that it was probably best not to pursue her stayed behind to question the remaining ODSTs.

If you haven't noticed yet this is basically a story that runs parallel to my other one.

Review I like to hear about how you guys liked it. Or disliked it. Just tell me what you want to see.


	2. Chapter 2

The Forgotten Ones

Ch. 2

Authors note: As always guys enjoy the story and give some feed back.

Setting: Dracus Nebuli. The capital is full of commotion as several marine outfits appear from a capture covenant cruiser.

Joe was followed the two Spartans to the lobby of the spaceport. There, one of them was taken away toward the large capitol building situated at the end of the street. The other watched them go and began pacing. Joe was very interested in where they were taking the Spartan, and he wanted to see the governor. So he followed the man taking the Spartan to the capitol.

Kyle was busy watching the marines and asking them what was going on. He learned that Reach had fallen and that they had miraculously captured a covenant cruiser. He also learned the names of the Spartans. Jun-Noble Three and Noble Six. While he was searching for answers he noticed none of the soldiers had guns.

"Where are all your guys weapons?"

"You guys took them remember? You said we could be here peacefully but we couldn't have any guns." Kyle was very confused. Why wouldn't they let their own military have guns. He pondered this for a while before he remembered what Joe had been talking about before they left. The guys in charge were rebels.

He looked over at where the rebels were crowded. The men looked angry and held their guns very tightly. Kyle could feel the tension in the air. He really wished Joe would get back soon.

Jessica was sitting in the boarding area. She couldn't believe that Reach was gone. She had spent her whole life there. She had learned everything there. She had joined the rebels at seventeen. Her parents were very prominent rebel sympathizers so she felt that she was doing the right thing. Then the rebels shipped her out here where they could be in control.

They had taken the planet fairly easily. They snuck in and removed the government and stuck a new one in its place in a matter of hours. The rebels felt like they had conquered a planet. The first round of recruiting was just beginning under the guise of a planetary defense force. When Joe had gotten there she was with another unit teaching them how to properly manage their firearms. When Joe and his group were sent to the firing range it was her duty to teach them.

When she first saw Joe she knew that she could use him to get where she wanted. When she heard that he was going to try to get to the capital she knew it was her chance. She waited out in the garage for them to show up so that she could go with them. She really wanted to get back to Reach and see her family and the only spaceport near by was in the capital so she knew where to go.

Jessica got up and began to pace around. Trying to get her mind off what had just happened. Then she had an idea, she would stay with Kyle and Joe and hopefully she would get the chance to have her vengeance on the Covenant. If only it wasn't to be so soon.

Joe watched the soldier send the Spartan in to meet the governor. He went to the receptionist and asked her when he would be able to see the governor. She told him he would never be able to see the governor and told him to go away. Joe went out the front door and waited on the steps. He saw the other Spartan running toward him. He ran by him into the Capitol building.

"That's strange" he thought. "What could possibly have that Spartan in such a hurry." Crash. He turned when he heard the noise. The Spartan had run through the door and taken out a soldier restraining the other Spartan. He watched as the two Spartans took care of the soldiers and grab the governor. They left the man on the ground and continued toward were Joe was watching them from.

The two Spartans walked out the front door and went down the steps. Joe started to follow them when one of them turned around. In a distinctly feminine voice the Spartan asked, "Do you want trouble soldier?"

"No, ma'am. I was just wanting to talk to the governor."

"I'm sorry soldier but the governor has been dead for some time. That rebel piece of crap has been here for several months now."

"Oh, what do I do then ma'am?"

"Well considering I'm the only UNSC personnel with any authority on this planet. I'm naming you governor and it's your job to protect this planet. Until proper elections can be held."

"I will do my best ma'am."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse us. Jun and I have a very strict timeline in which we have to meet a very important person." Joe could tell she didn't like whoever she was going to seen because she spoke with venom when she started to talk the VIP. Whoever it was he was glad he wasn't them.

Joe started down the stairs following the soldiers back to the spaceport where his friends were waiting. When he got there the soldiers were already leaving in a UNSC Frigate leaving the Covenant cruiser behind. He went to the boarding area were he found Jessica pacing back and forth.

"Jess." He waved at her trying to get her attention. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice him however. He ran over to her and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me you… Oh, it you Joe."

"Listen I've got something important to tell you. The rebels are in control of this planet. The Spartan put me in charge. We have to warn the others." Jessica looked at him. He saw the anger building up in her eyes. "What's up."

"I'm one of the rebels just so you know." She punched him in the gut. Joe doubled over gasping for breath.

"You but, I thought you were coming to see the governor, too."

"No I came to get on a ship to go visit Reach, but instead these soldiers come and tell everyone about Reach being destroyed." She kicked him. "What have the soldiers ever done. They always make things worse."

"Is that what you think? I saw several hundred wounded men and all of them said that they were injured trying to defend Reach. How many of your rebel friends can say that?" Kyle was standing there with his magnum. "Now if I was you I'd start slowly getting on the ground.

Jessica laid down with her hands over her head. Joe started to get up and walked over to Kyle.

"I think she just needs some time to think things through and she'll be fine." Joe whispered over to Kyle.

"I think so too but.."

The emergency announcement system crackle and came over the intercom. There are several covenant vessels. Approaching from slipspace. Begin evacuation procedure." The spaceport erupted into a fit of panic. All of the civilians began to board the transports that would take them out of system.

During the commotion Jessica got up and hit Kyle over the head. He fell to the ground unconscious. She picked up his gun and aimed at Joe. Joe was busy looking out the window. "There's too many."

"What?" she asked nervous about what he could possibly mean.

"The people. The transports only take several hundred. There are going to be several thousand people without a way off this planet." Jessica knew he was right. The rebels had driven off many of the transports when they first took over the planet. Now it was starting to hurt them. Joe grabbed Kyle and pulled him over his shoulder.

He threw Kyle into the side seat of the warthog they had taken to get there. Jessica followed them. Joe jumped into the driver side and started the hog. He looked back at Jessica who was still aiming the gun at him. "Are you coming or not?" Jessica took one look back at the spaceport and hopped on the Jeep.

Joe floor the hog for roughly the third time that day. He sped down the highway back the way they had came. "Joe, what are you doing?" Jessica asked him as they were flying down the highway.

"We are going to see if we can get someone to help us."

"Help us what?"

"I told the Spartan that I would defend this planet no matter what. I'm not going to leave people behind." He pulled on to the dirt road that led toward the base. When they reached the base it was in a fit of panic. Many of the people were trying to get out. Joe pulled up to his barracks and walked inside.

"We are all going to die." Screamed one of the men who ran out.

"Steve, Steve where are you at."

"Over here." The man had gathered a few of the soldiers and was trying to sort everything out. Steve had on a navy uniform with a lieutenant insignia. "I was in the navy prior to this planet being taken over by the rebels. Now I'm trying to get a group to help me defend this planet.

"I talked to the Spartans. They left me in charge. We're going to defend this planet no matter what."

"I already planned on it Joe. Now where are we going." Joe had already decided on the place. Their hometown. Everyone in the barracks was from the same area. Joe also knew that their town would be one of the places no evacuated in the event that there was an invasion. Steven and the men he had gathered had already secure the armory and a few Pelicans. The fight for the Pelicans almost became deadly except the others were so afraid that they left without trying to put up to much of a fight.

Joe had Steven and the other pilots grab the Pelicans and meet them at the armory. When the Pelicans reached the armory Joe took the time to count their small battalion of troops. All together they had about twenty soldiers who were willing to fight. The soldiers all got stared loading the Pelicans with munitions. There was a lot of ammo so they completely filled a Pelican and partially filled another. When they were finished a few stranglers joined their group. Ten soldiers had been left behind in the commotion and they felt there best chance was with Joe and his party.

Everyone boarded their Pelican and strapped themselves in. The pilots took off and started heading toward the town as phantoms started to descend from the hovering Covenant ships. The faded green aircraft drifted across the sky as the smoke poured across the horizon from the burning capital. "I hope everyone made it out ok" Joe thought to himself as they flew over the countryside.

Above them was only one Covenant cruiser that had been brave enough to follow the captured cruiser. Even thought they were fortunate that it was only one, they still had a long fight ahead of them.


	3. Chapter 3

The Forgotten Ones

Ch. 3

Enjoy the story review and stuff.

Setting: Lavana, a small rural city. Four Pelicans streak overhead heading toward the town hall. People are exiting their houses as they hear the noise. They notice the Covenant cruiser and run back inside.

"When we touch down I need everyone to secure the courtyard. Steve, you take a few of the men and make your way to the local police station. Gather as many weapons as you can find and arm the officers. Kyle, secure food and supplies we may be here a while and we might need food. Jessica, I need you to secure the town's satellite array. We will need to be able to get in contact if anyone comes back."

The pelicans roared several feet over the tops of a few buildings before setting down in the courtyard of the city hall. The small platoon of recruits hopped out and ran toward their assigned objectives. Joe hopped out of his pelican and ran to a taxi that was idling on the edge of the street. He "acquired" the vehicle from the driver and made his way to the local news station.

By now most of the telecommunication systems from around the planet were being blocked by the hovering covenant cruiser. The short distance local channels were still working however, and that gave Joe the ability to assemble all of the civilians. It was very important that they have all of the civilians in an area that they could protect without spreading their forces too thin.

Steve and the squad of men he commanded got a bus from the local bus station. They got directions from a local bus driver and made their way to the police department. The men took note of the structures that were around and began to pick out spots that would make for the best defenses.

The local bookstore was a two story building that was made of brick and had multiple windows to shoot out of. They made note of this as they passed the building. The road to the station was not straight at all. They weren't sure whether this city was actually so small after they got into the middle. The center of the city was busy with commerce. Many of the people were still ignorant of the looming threat just to their north.

They made their way through the afternoon traffic and manage to get to the police station. The exited the bus and ran up the steps to the lobby. The officers inside were frightened by the sight of the fully armed soldiers and moved their hands to their weapons just in case. Steve pushed his way to the front and made his way over to the receptionist's desk.

"I would appreciate it if you could assemble all of the officers so that we can discuss civil protection matters, now." The receptionist made the announcement over the intercom for the officers to come to the lobby. The officers slowly began to pour into the lobby. Each of them with an expression of surprise. When they were all assembled Steve made his way to the center of the group.

"Gentlemen, we have a great threat against our race today. The Covenant is on our doorstep. We must fight them back with everything that we have. We require that you assist us in our fight. We will need all of you to help us and all of the weapons and ammo that you keep on site. We thank you for your cooperation." Steve exited the building and got his radio from the bus. "This is Charlie, objective one complete"

"Roger that Bravo and Delta should be reporting in soon."

Kyle was have a bit of trouble acquiring food resources. The local farmers weren't to keen on having to share their food. Kyle went back to the jeep and radioed Joe. "Hey, Joe I'm having trouble getting the food."

"Why what's up?"

"The farmers are holding onto their food with a death grip. They won't give it up without getting paid. Like the money is going to be worth anything when the Covenant are attacking."

"Well, just tell them that the government will pay them after we rid the Covenant threat from the area."

"Yeah, but we both know that the government isn't coming back."

"We do, but they don't"

"Good call. I'll have the food ready in a few hours." Kyle went back to the farmers and explained that they would be paid after the covenant were removed from the area. The idea sounded fine to them so they shook on it. Kyle got a few men to get some trucks to haul the food to the city.

There was enough food to fill twenty trucks so they would have to make several trips. This didn't affect them they were just glad to have the food source available to them. The farms were several miles outside the town so the trip would end up taking half an hour. It was good that they didn't have to go farther. When the Covenant actually attacked they'd be in trouble.

"Joe this is Delta one food secured waiting for further instruction."

"Carry on Delta, we're just waiting on Bravo now."

Jessica was having difficulty locating the satellite array. Whenever she asked anyone they wouldn't answer her. The people seemed to be avoiding her, as though she was death. When she finally figured out where the array was she was on the wrong side of town. She flagged down a driver who was going by. The driver stopped and unlocked the door for her.

Jessica got into the vehicle and asked the driver if she could get a ride to the other side of the city. The driver said she was going there anyway. "Thank you for the ride ma'am."

"No problem, so you're a soldier."

"Yeah, first battalion." she told her. "And the only one." she muttered under her breath."

"Oh, my husband was recently drafted. Maybe you know him."

"What's his name I could tell you if I knew him."

"Joseph Raslov, he's about five eleven, dark brown hair, and has green eyes." Jessica was dumbstruck. She turned away from the woman for a second and noticed something in the back. She looked up to see two children in the back. She turned back to the woman.

"Yeah I know him." The car pulled up to the satellite array and stopped. The woman unlocked the doors and let Jessica out.

"If you see him again could you tell him that we love him"

"I'll tell him" she said and shut the door. The soldier waved as the car pulled away and drove down the street. She tried to radio Joe but there was just static. "Oh yeah, I'm out of range." She walked into the building and looked for the men in charge of the station.

Joe was in the TV station trying to get on the set. "I don't care who you are you're not getting on the set."

"Sir it is important. We need to get the people to a central area so that we can defend against the Covenant invasion."

"Yeah the Covenant. You know what you look like an ok guy. I'll give you this one opportunity to leave before I make you leave."

"You don't understand this threat is real. The entire planet is already evacuating or evacuated. Try any on the other station there is no feed because everyone is gone." The other man grabbed Joe and tried to drag him to the door. Joe ripped the other mans arm off of him and went to get into the studio. The security officer hit Joe in the back and Joe fell over a little.

"I said you can't go in there. If you don't want to get hurt I suggest that you leave."

"I don't care what you think I've got to warn these people." The security guard took another swing at Joe, but Joe saw it coming this time. He grabbed the mans wrist and twisted his arm over. Then he punched the mans straightened arm and was rewarded with a sickening crack. The other man clutched his arm and ran out of the station.

Joe was disappointed that he actually had to hurt the other man, but he needed to warn the people of Lavana and the man was not helping. Joe turned around and walked into the live studio. There were two news anchors giving the daily news and a camera crew operating the equipment. None of the people in the room noticed him enter.

Joe strode over to the desk and picked up one of the anchors. He pointed to the camera crew. "Keep the camera rolling. I have an important news update for the citizens of this city." The workers were in no interest to get in a fight with the soldiers so they listened to him. The other anchor just continued to sit there frightened by the entrance of this imposing man.

"People of the city of Lavana, I have an important message for you. The Covenant has found Dracus Nebuli. They have sent an invading force already into some of the larger cities. It is only a matter of time before they find this one. It is imperative that we move all nonessential civilian personnel to the city hall. We have very limited military resources as it is. Anyone who remains outside of our designated area will not receive help in the event of an attack. I suggest that you pack your things and make your way in a nice organized fashion to the city hall. Thank you that is all."

When Joe had finished he had the camera men put his message on a loop and told them to leave the station. They were more than willing to leave. Joe walked back out of the station and back to the warthog he had taken. "This is Alpha, TV station secured. Be prepared for a large inflow of people."

"We hear you Joe. We have the hall secured and are setting up defenses as we speak."

"Good, have we heard anything from Bravo yet?"

"Uhh, no sir, we thought she was going to contact you if she had any problems."

"Not yet. I'll go see if she needs help. You guys just prepare for the civilians."

"Roger that."

Jessica walked into the control room. "Interesting" she thought to herself "Where could everyone be. I wonder where everyone could possibly be. Lunch. Yeah its about lunch time." The soldier walked through the corridors until she came upon a set of double doors. Overhead it said cafeteria.

She entered the cafeteria and was surprised to see no one there as well. She still couldn't get a hold of Joe so she went over to the phone and dialed the number for city hall that was taped to the side of the phone.

"Hello"

"This is Sergeant Jessica Travic with the UNSC, who am I speaking to?"

"Corporal Ryan, ma'am. What can I do for you."

"Corporal there is no one here at the satellite array. I am going to need some help if you could send some."

"Sorry ma'am there is no way I can send anyone at this time. Joe got the message to the civilians and there are way too many for us to even give up one man. I do believe that Joe was on his way to see what was going on anyway, but from the sounds of things I think you need more than one person."

"Thanks anyway Corporal. I will be back with Joe to help out in a few."

"Good luck Sergeant." Jessica hung up the phone. She navigated her way back to the entrance. She looked out the door and then noticed something. There were almost fifty cars in the parking lot. Where could everyone be that she couldn't find them. She turned around and looked around the lobby. She guessed that the only reason they could be gone is they all were out getting lunch when Joe aired his message. She walked out the front door and waited for Joe.

_Aboard the Covenant Cruiser Bringer of Destruction. _

"General Ared we have taken out the humans communications. There is only one human city remaining with any of the human population. We should have it destroyed shortly. Then we can begin our search for the holy relics."

"Good report back to me once you have eliminated all of the humans. This will turn out to be one of the easiest missions we have had. I can feel the prophets' joy, when we surprise them with the treasures we find." The elite officer turned off his communicator. He looked at the bodies of the human technicians that they had hidden in the janitors closet.

"Hey put some charges over there we don't want the humans to every have the opportunity to call for help."

Jessica was pacing around the front of the building when Joe pulled up. "Miss me?" He asked.

"Not at all. I was just trying to figure out why no one is here."

"Well they were probably out for lunch when I sent my message. We will find them when we need to. Until then let' just get back to city hall." Joe started out of the parking lot to the south end, when BANG. The entire area flash a brilliant white before it settled back down. When they looked back there was nothing left of the satellite array.

"The Covenant are here already, and it looks like they don't want us to get any help."


	4. Chapter 4

_The Forgotten Ones _

_Ch. 4_

_Read and review. Your comments are heard and appreciated. _

_Sorry readers I've been going through a lot recently. I'll try to post as often as possible_

_**Setting**__:__ With the communications array destroyed people are panicking at city hall. The entire place is in jeopardy of being destroyed, and not by the Covenant. The Covenant cruiser has launched several dropships en route to begin the assault. _

_Joe and Jessica turned the corner to the city hall. There was nowhere for them to go because of all of the people. Several of the people had hear the explosion and they had started rumors that the covenant were already attacking. The duo got out of the warthog and made their way through the crowd. They both had several bruises by the time they made it through the sea of people. _

"_Joe what do we do? The people are going crazy and we don't have any idea what to tell them." said the corporal who was doing his best to hold the front door._

"_I don't know. Give me a second." He thought about it for a while and then came up with an idea. "Get me a mic and I'll calm them down." Joe went into the building and got on the intercom system. _

"_People of Lavana. It has come to my attention that everyone is afraid that we are already under attack. This is not true. I can assure you that the covenant is far away from here at this moment. The explosion that you heard just a under an hour ago was actually my team. We were demolishing buildings to create roadblocks. When the covenant finally do come rest assured that we will protect you. Please remain calm and proceed to the fallout shelter as soon as directed. Thank you." _

_Joe and his team were moving the civilians into the fallout shelter in order to keep them safe in the event of a firefight. The fallout shelter was basically a giant concrete safe, designed to house the entire city. It large connection of rooms and tunnels spanned the entire city hall property. _

_Steve and the policemen were relieved when Joe's voice came over the loudspeaker. The people that they had been trying to calm down relaxed. Joes speech convinced them that they were fine. The temporary removal of fear helped them to moved everyone quickly and orderly into the shelter. _

_They quickly finished their jobs and made plans for the coming strike. Steve was fairly confident that the soldiers could handle the first wave without a problem. After that he wanted to have the police on stand-by to provide supporting fire. _

"_Gentlemen. I am thankful for your contributions to this city, and I am glad to have your services available. Hopefully we will not require you to engage enemy hostiles, but be prepared to do so in the event that we are overrun by enemy combatants. Now go and stay with your families. They need you."_

_The men were glad to be out of that mess. They walked quickly to were their personal belongs were and seized them, before quickly sprint to find their families. Steve watched the men as they ran off, glad to have given the opportunity to be with their family. Even if it was only temporary. _

_As Steve was leaving the fallout shelter he ran into Joe. " Thanks for coming back and reassuring the civilians that it was just some demolition. Did you get Kyle in on the job."_

"_Steve we need to talk privately." Joe took him to the mayor's office and sat down in one of the chairs, motioning for Steve to do the came. "Steve. There was no demolition today. Except one performed by the Covenant. They snuck into the Satellite array and demolished it. I believe they didn't want us calling for reinforcements. Either way we are no in a situation in which we have no transport or communication. Our only hope is that someone is brave enough to come back." _

_Steve was shocked. "Joe, why would you lie to us. Why wouldn't you tell us that the covenant are really here."_

"_Steve there were several thousand people in the city hall courtyard alone. We don't need to have them all scared. That would just be a opportunity for disaster."_

_As Steve thought about it he started to realize what Joe was saying. If he hadn't told the civilians it was a friendly explosion they would have gone out of control. "You're right Joe. It could have gotten very bad in here but thanks to you were all fine. Good thing your in charge."_

"_Steve no one can run a city by himself. You guys deserve a bit of credit too."_

"_Thanks Joe. I hope that we can defend these people until help arrives."_

"_You and me both." Joe was quick to get to the supply warehouse. He brought what men he could spare and a few civilians to bring sandbags to the front. Joe new that it was important that they get their defenses built early if they were to stand a chance. The Covenant was bound to launch an early strike force. The sooner they were prepared the better their chances were. _

_The men worked diligently and were finished with their work in a couple of hours. Machinegun turrets were place in strategic positions around the plaza. The outermost turrets were set up equal height to the entrance where the covenant would most likely enter. Behind them on the steps leading up into city hall were other nests on the roof the soldiers deployed several rocket turrets in order take down Banshees and dropships. _

_Joe was exhausted, when they had finally finished it was dark. Joe made his way to the makeshift barracks that was the utility barn. They had removed all the tools and utility vehicles to make room for everyone to sleep. Joe walked down the middle of their barracks and took his spot at the end by Jessica and Kyle. _

"_Hey, Joe, I was wondering what is our plan now that the communications array has been obliterated."_

"_The only thing we can do. Pray that someone comes to save us."_

"_That's comforting. Any other words of encouragement?"_

"_Yeah, shut up and get some sleep. We don't know when the Covies are going to attack so I'd like you at your best."_

"_rragrfragraga" mumbled Kyle and he turn over and fell asleep. Jessica was lying in her cot thinking when she remember something from yesterday. _

"_Joe?"_

"_What's up?"_

"_Are you married?"_

"_Yeah, why?"_

"_Two kids? A little girl and a little boy?"_

"_How do you know?"_

"_Your wife dropped me off at the array before you came. She was a very nice lady. She was a happy person. She was driving along the two kids when I flagged her down."_

"_Where are they?"_

"_I don't know. When I left they were just heading home." Joe sprang off the cot and sprinted for the shelter where the civilians where being housed. The area was incredibly large. It had a ten foot ceiling and the corridors were twenty feet wide. The entire expanse of the underground complex covered nearly three square miles. _

_Joe pulled aside the sergeant who was keeping watch. "Sergeant have you a mother with a little girl and boy pass through here. The two kids have brown hair and are about this high." He used his hand to show an approximate measurement._

"_Well Joe, there are thousands of people down here. Many of them had children like you described. You can check if you want. The families were arranged alphabetically for ease." Joe ran down the corridor searching asking the people their names as he went by. He got to about the end of the corridor and asked another person. _

"_Sir, what's your last name?"_

"_It's Rain, sir. Why?"_

"_I'm trying to find my family." Joe was sure his family would be next but when he saw that they were his ex neighbors he was crushed. He sprinted to the exit where Jessica was waiting with a warthog. _

"_Joe, what's up." _

"_My family isn't here. Get in the car, now." Joe flew down the empty city streets like a man possessed. His thoughts weren't on the road. He could only think about his missing family. He was down the length of Park Ave in only a minute. Just another right and a left. He had the path memorized from when he worked at city hall for a year. _

_Joe took the corner a little sharp and smoked the curb on the opposite side of the street. "Thank goodness everyone is at city hall or we would have killed somebody. Joe got onto the last rode before his house, he could almost see it. _

_Makl the Elite and his grunts had cornered the little human family in the back corner of their living establishment. He could have easily kick in the door and shot the humans, but what's the fun in that. He banged on the door with his fist making dents in the door. The grunts meanwhile were in the kitchen eating and obscene amount of food. _

_Tip-tap the grunt was grabbing some of the human's food out of a closet above his reach when the whole contents of the cupboard fell on him. The others gathered around and laughed at him before taking some of the food and going elsewhere to eat it. _

_Makl was enjoying himself upstairs, but he knew he would have to leave before the others began to get angry. He punched a hole in the door and was rewarded with high pitched screams of terror. He slowly reached down to open the door from the inside when. Bang. A feeling of pain spread up his arm and when he pulled his arm out his hand had a clean hole in it. The human had a pistol inside the room. _

_Makl cursed himself for nor foreseeing this and turning on his shield. He activated his shield and body slammed the door to the room. It shook the house with the amount of force he put into the assault. The door was stronger then he had thought and was only dented in part way. He hit the door another time and this time it bent all the way in. The noise shook through the house so loud he didn't notice the car pull in. _

_Joe jumped out of the car before he even had it in park. He saw movement in the house and drew his shotgun. Jessica had moved to the other seat on the car and put it in park. She got out and drew her weapon as well. Joe took one step and kicked his own front door in. He ran in and saw the grunts munching on the food in the kitchen. Six quick shots took them all out. _

_He was searching the rooms on the bottom floor when he heard screams upstairs. He ascend the stairs four at a time. Jessica stayed downstairs to make sure that there was no one else coming to surprise them. _

_Joe sprinted to the room he heard the screaming coming from. When he turned in the doorway the sight was almost too much to comprehend. The Elite had impaled his wife on its energy dagger and the children were crying in the corner. If Joe wasn't mistaken he thought he saw a smile on the Elites jaws. _

_The Elite turned to see his enemy approach, but its reaction time wasn't nearly quick enough for what happened. Joe lunged across the room with his combat knife. His swing went straight through the energy shield the Elite was using and impaled its head with the blade. He removed the blade and then stabbed the Elite again and again. When he had finished the Elite was an unrecognizable mess on the floor. His hands were soaked with purple blood, which he wiped off on the Elite. _

_Raslov turned to his wife who was bleeding on the floor. "Honey, I'm sorry. Don't leave me like this. Don't."_

"_Joe… it's ok… take care of the children.. I love you…" Her body fell limp in his hands as he knelt there crying. His children cried with him hugging him while they knelt in silence in their house. _

_Jessica was waiting down stairs and hadn't heard anything from Joe yet. She walked up the stairs and to the room where Joe and his children were. When she saw the scene she understood what had happened without anything being told to her. Unfortunately, she also recognized that they needed to leave quickly before enemy reinforcements arrived. _

_She tapped Joe on the shoulder and whispered to him quietly, " Joe we have to go, there will be more Covenant here any second." Joe wordlessly got up and wrapped his wife's body in sheet before carrying it down the stair to the waiting warthog. He and his children got in the back of the warthog while Jessica drove back to city hall. _

_He had never been this affected when he was fighting insurrectionist on planets far away from where he lived now, but this was entirely different. The woman he had loved for many years was now gone. Killed by a combatant with no mercy, no remorse. Rage built up inside him like nothing he had ever known before. He would have jumped of the truck right then and there except that he took one look at his children and knew he couldn't. His wife had told him to take care of the children, and he would protect them with his life. _

_Jessica turned down the road to the church. She stopped outside the front of the building. "Joe we don't have to do this now we can…."_

"_No we do this now." Joe got slowly out of the car and took his wife's body from the back. Jessica opened the door to the church and Joe stepped inside. He walked down aisle and out the door in the back. There was a tomb that was already waiting for someone to be laid to rest. He set the corpse down in the stone tomb and let the children give one finally good-by to their mother. Joe slid the stone cover over the top and it screeched shut and finally came to rest. Joe turned and left the room without saying a word. _

_The minute Joe got back from the church he had Kyle watch his kids. He left them in the slightly capable hands of Kyle and went to the barracks. He didn't even bother to take off his uniform. He leaned back and fell asleep on the way down. _

"_So.. What are your guys' names."_

"_I'm Timmy and she is ugly."_

"_Timmy quit being mean." _

"_If you weren't such a girl about everything."_

"_Come on guys lets relax." Kyle started to stress about what was going to happen. He had never had kids before and was having a fairly traumatic experience. _

"_Mr. Kyle can you tell Timmy to stop being a poopy head."_

"_His name isn't Mr. Kyle. Kyle is first name. Rebecca sometimes I wonder about you._

"_So much confrontation. Let's just try and find a nice way to solve our issues." Jessica laughed at Kyle as he attempted to diffuse the situation. She walked over to help him._

"_Hey, do you guys want some ice cream"_

"_ICE CREAM!" Jessica took the children to the mess hall where the cook was just cleaning up. _

"_Hey Jim. Joe's kids are being rowdy you mind if I take some desserts."_

"_No problem Jess. There in the freezer." Jessica grabbed the ice cream and took the children back to Kyle._

_While the kids were eating Jessica told Kyle about what had happened and advised him against talking to Joe for a little while. _

"_That's horrible. How come these freaks have to go on killing innocents. You don't see use going over there and killing everybody."_

"_Kyle, their from an entirely different society. The Elites value honor above all else. They could care less if you killed their relatives." _

"_Yeah, but don't they value life at all. I mean can't they have a heart at all."_

"_It would appear not Kyle." The kids finished off their ice cream and walked over to the two soldiers. _

"_Thank you Miss Jessica"_

"_You're very welcome. Now come on let's get you ready for bed. Jessica took the children away and left Kyle alone in the room. Kyle had nothing better to do so he studied a picture that was on the wall. It was several years old. It depicted the countryside right outside the city. There were rolling hills covered in farmland. Near the very front of the picture were two people on a hill having a picnic. The whole scene was very sentimental and reminded Kyle of his days before. He had trouble turning away. _

_He got up and left the room eager to be away from the memories that he had. He went outside for some fresh air. The calm night soothed him and he stood there peacefully. His thoughts drifted to Jessica. He had had a relationship with many women before but she was different. Not in a bad way either. When he thought of her he was in absolute bliss. In another time perhaps. He wished that they were in another place far from here. Away from the covenant, away from the death and sadness. _

_While he was daydreaming he didn't notice Jessica come out from the building. She stood there for a second wonder what he was thinking about. She decided that it probably wasn't important. She snuck up behind him and shouted, "BOO" Kyle jumped almost five feet in the air. _

"_Don't scare me like that."_

"_It wouldn't scare you if you weren't such a wimp."_

"_Yeah, well, naahh."_

"_Listen to us we sound like the children. I guess it's just like us to say one thing and do another." Kyle pondered the thought for a while. _

"_You know, you're right. We go through with everything telling everyone that they need to do this, that, and the other thing. While we do the same things. No wonder its so difficult to fix the problems."_

"_I understand your feelings of moral obligation but really. We're fighting an alien menace that will kill anyone on sight and your think about hypocrisy." _

"_Yeah well if we don't die to them we'll probably die to each other. No one really feels for anyone anymore. The whole world was going to pieces before the Covenant were even found. Why even try to keep fighting? We have nothing to fight for. This whole world, all these people will be at each others throats before we even get somewhere safe." _

"_What about safety, what about family, what about all the people who are out there doing the right thing you can't tell me that there are only a few good people left on this planet." _

"_Yeah, look at how many of the soldiers stayed. There's just enough of us to prevent the crowd from breaking into a riot. If we didn't have Joe or some of the other guys we'd be screwed." _

"_Come on. Ninety percent of the soldiers that left were rebels anyway. They were already bad people. The rest of us have a reason to be here. The others that left, they aren't bad people. They're just trying to protect themselves and their families." _

"_I guess you're right, but still all the people in the shelter. A great deal of them are able bodied men who could help us fight the Covenant. Why don't they get off their backsides and help the rest of us."_

"_Kyle they will. They can help set up defenses, but think clearly we barely have enough weapons for the soldiers we have. Not to mention our lack of ammo. What if one of the civilians fired a rocket to nowhere, or worse fired it at our own people. These guys aren't trained fighters. Even though we were only at camp a few days everyone here has a significant military background. Come on Kyle have a little faith."_

"_You're right, I just guess that I feel like there's no reason for me to be here. Why in hell am I here." _

"_Kyle…"_

"_I don't think that there is one person here that I can believe in."_

"_What about me." Jessica leaned toward him and kissed him passionately. He was startled by it be soon relinquished to her. He had her around the waist trying to pull her in closer. He held her tightly as though she might slide through his hands. She held him just as tightly. Their bodies melding in the darkness. Pulled her head back watching him. He looked into her eyes for a moment before pulling her back in and kissing her again. When they had finished they looked longingly at another for the longest time before separating and heading to their separate sleeping areas. _

_Joe stood in the doorway watching as the two of the walked away. The thoughts of his wife flooded back to him. His eyes welled with tears. They were happy thoughts though. Thoughts of joy when they had been dating many years ago. He thought back to their first kiss. Ten years ago. He had just gotten out of the service and was hanging out with a couple of his buddies at a bar. The guys he was with told him to go over and ask a girl that was a few seats away if she'd go on a date with him. _

_He had slid over so smooth that it was almost scary. He had asked her if she wanted to meet him somewhere. She told him to meet him at the beach and to not bring any of the other guys with him. Joe went back to his friends and told them. He left the guys at the bar and made his way to the beach. He waited there for several hours and the girl never showed up. _

_He was ready to head home when the rain started coming down in sheets. He hid in a bus stop. He accidentally ran into a lady when he sprinting to get in the little shelter. She turned around and their eyes met. Joe was breathless. He could tell the person across from him was someone special. He brought her back to his house. They watched a movie on his couch. The story was told incredibly well and had a great deal of action. At one point the girl sitting next to him turned frightened. He glanced at her and saw her fear. _

_He brought her close and held her. She turned up toward Joe and pulled him down into a kiss. Joe was surprised. She had moved quick and he was unprepared, but he counter attacked quickly. They met often after that and became very close. The rest, well you know. _

_Joe walked back to the barracks and fell back on his cot. He fell fast asleep just like earlier, only this time he was peaceful. _

_I know a lot happened in this chapter but it had to have it happen now before… other things get in the way. I am sincerely sorry for not updating more frequently. So many things are competing for my time that I'm getting caught up. _

_I hope what ever is happening to you may it be joyful and enlightening. _

_Never, ever give up. _

"_Things could always be worse."_

"_Things can always be better and will always be better" Just try. Give life a shot. _

_I happen to be taking sociology. They say that what really causes you to make decisions is your perception of how other think of you. _

_I don't believe that and I can't. You control you own destiny make something of it. _

_That was my rant of the day. Review, message me, something. I like to talk to people. I don't bite. Plus your probably not close enough to me for that to be possible anyway._


	5. Chapter 5

The Forgotten Ones

Ch.5

**Setting:** 12:00 p.m. The City hall is full of civilians who are getting very testy. The First Squadron was deployed out front waiting for the Covenant. The police officers however had to waste much of their energy keeping the crowds from getting completely overwhelming.

"Hey, move that barricade over by the steps we can cover the turrets with sandbags. The barricades are supposed to be placed on the top of the steps to slow down enemy troops."

"I need some help over here."

"We all do" The men were obviously trying their best to set up defenses but it just wasn't going as fast as they had anticipated. They were moving the materials into position but it was hard work and they were being worn out very quickly. Kyle quickly sent for Joe because he always knew how to best accomplish everything. Kyle hadn't talked to Joe in several days. He knew that Joe was having a rough time and it wasn't good on the kids either. There were several days when they didn't even leave the barracks. Though he respected Joe, they would have a problem unless Joe returned to take charge.

The way to the barracks was one that was now easily memorized by the entire marine squad. The area was quite large and managed to sleep the couple dozen of them with lots of extra space. Each soldier had his own things stored neatly at the foot of his bed, while the bed itself was completely askew. Normally they would have been disciplined but the workload was so difficult that they stopped worrying about petty things such as straightened beds.

Joe's area was at the end of the second row. He and his children had been sleeping there since his wife died several days ago. Now Kyle found him in the same spot he was in prior to leaving for work in the morning. "Joe, we need you out there. I know that your wife was very important to you, but we need help preventing more people from being killed. The Covenant cruiser has already launched a large attack force. Our scouts have told us that possible by the end of the day and into the night we could face a strong attack from the Covenant."

"I know Kyle. I've been having my thoughts clouded. This whole day I've been trying to come up with a plan to stop the attacking Covenant, but I don't know that I can do it. We don't know what their sending and we don't have the resources necessary to defend ourselves for longer that several days.:

"Come on Joe. We've had the same thoughts as you but you don't se us laying down and dying. The rest of us are going to meet what comes to us good or bad. WE can hold them off. There can't be an infinite number of them."

"Yeah be there's an even less number of us. Even if you include the civilians they out number us by at least ten times. The fact is we just don't have enough man power or firepower to have a chance."

"We could train the civilians. They may not know how to wield a weapon now but if we could make our stand for a while we could have a few of them with at least some ability."

"Kyle, I am not someone who does not take into consideration only a few options. That is one of the first ideas that I thought of but the problem is that we only have a limited amount of ammo as it is. If we were to waste some of it trying to train people we would be out of luck. The only possible good outcome for us would be if someone came back. Considering the fact that this entire planet has been under the control of rebels who have little value of human life I'm not expecting much in the way of help."

"Fine. Have it your way. Just remember, you may have only lost your wife so far but as soon as the Covenant gets here they are going to take away your children too. I don't know what you are think that you would just give up and stay in here until something pops into your mind. The rest of us are out here working like crazy to set up defenses while you sit in here."

"Well if it's so difficult for you to set up the defenses why don't you have some of the stronger civilians help you. I'm fairly certain that they won't mind helping you protect them from the looming threats. I also think that if you were to demolish the skyscraper to the left so that it fell across the road it would funnel all of their ground forces down Smith street."

"Yeah and with all of the surrounding buildings we could ambush the troops coming down the road. There would be no where to hide and they wouldn't be ready for us. See Joe all you needed was a little pep talk."

"I wish. I've had hundreds of ideas like that in my head all day. I think with the plans I have in my head we could easily take out thousands of them, but now matter how

many plans I come up with it always ends the same way. We all die."

"I know Joe but the way I see it is we either sit down and die for nothing or we take out as many of them as we can. I mean I would have thought speaking to someone in your position you would be seeking vengeance or at the very least a bit angry, but I have never known you to give up. Every time I think that I am in trouble or there is no way out of a situation I just think about what you do and it works. That being said I know I am not a leader I just am not. You on the other hand have all the qualities that have made the greatest leaders. You walk with an air of confidence, you have great speaking skills, and you never give up on anyone. Don't give up on us Joe, and we won't ever give up on you."

Kyle spun around and walked out of the room leaving Joe alone with his thoughts again. Joe knew that Kyle was right but he wasn't ready to go out there. The Covenant were on their way. He need them to have more ammo but he didn't know of anywhere they could get any ammo. He remembered the giant armory that was at Fort Bravo. It was just a little bit south of here and had enough ammo and weaponry for them to hold out for even longer. Joe knew that this was just a race against time. If no one came back for them there was no hope.

While Joe was pondering how to get ahold of the weaponry he came up with a brilliant idea. A few of the men and several of the stronger civilians would go to the camp and acquire the weaponry necessary to fend of the Covenant. At the same time the remaining military personnel and the police force would ambush the Covenant on Smith Street. When they had annihilated the Covenant ground forces there would already be reinforcements head to that area. While the Covenant were preparing to drop off troops the Pelicans would just be getting back and could take down the dropships. Then they would have the ammo that they need as well as the victory that they needed so badly.

Joe got up and walked out the way that Kyle had left. He was always slightly concerned about his children but that was part of being a father. His children were with one of his wife's friends and were well cared for or were to the best of his knowledge. He saw that Kyle had taken his advice and many people were working to get the defenses in place. Joe looked for Kyle but he couldn't find him in the plaza. He went into the city hall building to look for him.

When he go inside there was a flurry of movement. Many of the police officers were busy directing traffic while families were moving from place to place. There were well over a hundred people and even though it was a huge lobby it was very crowded. He figured that Kyle would be in one of the offices with all of the people running around. Joe made his way to the Mayor's office and opened the door. Inside he saw Kyle and Jessica kissing on the Mayor's desk. He knocked on the already opened door.

"I'm not interrupting something am I."

"Joe, I, this isn't what it looks like."

"What are you talking about kid, don't you like her."

"Yes, but no, but, arrgh."

"Ok then. Jessica, we will need you and hopefully and entirely functional Kyle outside ASAP. I have a plan that we need to put into action soon."

"Don't worry I'll have him put back together by the time I bring him out. And Joe. It's good to have you back."

"Thank you Jessica it's good to be back." Joe walked out of the door in the front of the office leaving the two lovebirds to whatever they may be doing. He walked to the service desk and got over the intercom. "All military personnel and able bodied men please report to the steps in front of the city hall building. Thank you."

When the soldiers and civilians had arrived Joe instructed them of his plan. The civilian and police group would go with Kyle and demolish the building setting up their trap. The soldiers would go with Joe and secure the ammo and supplies from the fort. Since the civilians weren't allowed to use firearms Joe instructed them to use fireworks and all sorts of other objects to distract the Covenant.

"Joe don't you think that it might be a little bit risky trying to put civilians into the mix. I mean they might freak out and freeze or something."

"I have faith that they can manage. Their task isn't one that requires a lot of combat. There should be no issues." Joe turned to the pilots. "Are you guys ready for our departure."

"The Pelicans' engines are running. We're ready when you are sir."

"Good let's roll out. Kyle. Make sure to keep everybody safe while I'm gone ok."

"Whatever you say boss." Kyle yelled as Joe and his group left in the Pelicans. As soon as they were out of sight Kyle set everyone to work. He had some of the civilians continue to set up defenses while he and the police force acquired some explosive charges. The makeshift armory that they had set up housed most of their arms and explosives. Kyle made his way into the armory where he had the guards go in and find him the C-4. They spent quite a while searching for it before they came across the charges. They came back with the charges and bad news.

"There are only enough charges to bring down the building you want so don't mess up."

"Thanks for that. Now when I screw up I know there is no hope." Kyle took the explosives and headed toward the end of the street. He located the building that Joe instructed him to demolish and set the charges. This time however they were sure to alert the civilians to their activities before they brought down the building.

Joe and the group that was with him just came into sight of the base. "Shit." The entire base was covered in Covenant forces. There were two wraiths, one of which was anti-air. There were also three dozen or so infantry units including six Elites.

"Ok Charlie team this is it. Charlie One I want you to take out the regular wraith in a fly-by they shouldn't be ready for it. After that the rest of us are going to move in on the ground and take out the anti-air wraith before you guys come in to load the supplies. Charlie One initiate the assault when your ready."

The lead pelican gunned its thrusters and went in low over the Covenant battalion. It launched several groups of rockets at the wraith as it went over. The Covenant vehicle exploded in a brilliant flash of blue light. Thankfully for the ground forces the strike eliminated three of the Elites. The two pelican in the rear landed several hundred meters away and dropped off the infantry before lifting off and pulling away.

The small squad of military members sprinted down the long drive that led to the compound. When they reached the gate they stacked up on opposite sides, six per side. "When we go through this gate I want a continuous hail of gunfire on their position until we reach that first wall. Go."

The infantry moved through the entry way guns raised. As soon as they identified their targets they unloaded with their assault rifles. The men in the back where taking their time and picking off the grunts and jackals that were stupid enough to poke their heads out. Several groups of grunts were headless before the entire group had passed through the gate.

"Cover me I'm reloading." Shouted several marines as the others maintained the rate of fire. The marines quickly reloaded before setting back to work on the enemy combatants. The group moved quickly with precision taking out targets that attempted to take shots at them as they moved across the open area.

"Frag out." A marine called out as he lobbed a grenade at the area some of the aliens had taken cover in. The fragmentation grenade landed short of the position and took a large hop into the middle of the freaks. The explosive went off leaving a satisfying splatter of blood on the wall near the enemies.

The group just reached the low wall as they ran out of ammo. They all dropped their main weapons and drew their side arms. "Do you think that there is anyone left?"

"Just a sec let me check." One of the marines turned to poke his head out and Joe grabbed him and pulled him back down. He grabbed the marine by the chin.

"Think about it." Joe pulled off the marine's helmet and stuck it on the end of one of the rifles that was lying on the ground. He slowly raised it over the top of the low wall that they were hiding behind. Nothing happened for a few seconds.

"See I told you no one is left." The other marine shouted. Before he had even finished the sentence a needle from a needler rifle punched through both sides of the helmet leaving a clean hole in the center.

"You see? There are still roughly ten of them left. That doesn't include the two of them that are in the anti-air wraith." Joe turned to the rest of his group and tried to think of what to do so that they didn't die. When he turned he notice the side mirror on one of the trucks down the way from them. He looked at the mirror and saw the sniper positioned on the second story of the building on the left.

"George, you lay down some covering fire while I take out that sniper. He's in the third window, second story of the blue building. Got it?"

"Yeah I got you sir." Joe counted down from five using hand motions to get everyone else ready. When he got to zero the Private got up and shot at the position the sniper was holed up in. Joe use the opportunity to toss a frag into the window. The timing on the grenade was absolutely perfect raining shards of metal onto the sniper while also blowing out the wall, send hundreds of pounds of debris falling onto the remaining infantry.

Nearly all of the infantry that the covenant had was gone. The wraith realizing this turned its cannons on the humans. It fired it first salvo destroying a large portion of the wall that they were hiding behind. "Charlie One, This is Charlie actual. Requesting immediate air support on our position over."

"I read you Charlie. Is that wraith gone."

"No but its attention is one us."

"I'm not going in unless I can just fly-by."

"Alright. We'll mark it with yellow smoke." Another salvo from the wraith destroyed another portion of the wall. Leaving the group huddled behind the only remaining section. "Ok guys I've got this." Joe stood up and went to toss the flare at the tank, but he took a needler rifle round to the leg. He fell over clutching his leg as it started to release a large amount of blood.

George noticed the wraith preparing to take its last shot at them and the sound of thrusters approaching. He saw the flare releasing smoke and thought. "Oh shit." He grabbed the smoke and hopped over the wall sprinting through the waves of plasma as he attempted to reach the Covenant vehicle. He took a shot to the right shoulder but kept running. He was almost to the wraith when a second round caught him in the lower leg. He fell over and threw the flare into the turret on the wraith. The Pelican flew over just as he hit the ground.

The warheads slammed into the wraith vaporizing all of the occupants and sending large pieces of shrapnel everywhere. The medic and several other marines sprinted over to where they last saw their friend. "Where is he? Hey, George can you hear me."

"I would be much more inclined to answer if you would get off of me." George was buried under a couple of pieces of concrete. The marines quickly dug him out while the medic examined Joe.

"You have a minor injury considering the shot missed your muscle by millimeters. Your very lucky to even have a chance to walk. Just fill in the gaps with biofoam and you should be fine.

"Thanks doc." The medic hurried over to George who was slightly more injured.

"He's got severe burns on his right shoulder and a nice hole in his left leg. I think that he should be fine but we should probably get what we need and get out." Joe signaled for the pelicans to land in the court yard while all the non-injured personnel loaded the weaponry. Joe being the stubborn man that he is walked into the base without even thinking about his leg. He walked down the corridors to the command center. Since all UNSC bases were essentially the same he knew where to look. He found the keys that he was looking for and headed off for the storage.

All of the marines were carrying large crates of ammo to the pelicans from the armory. Joe on the other had went through the armory to the back. There was a door at the other end of the large storage facility. Joe brought out the holo-card that opened the door and showed it to the scanner. Joe walked in to the back armory. He found what he was looking for and got a cart to haul the weapon over to the pelican.

"Sir, do you really think that we need that kind of firepower."

"Absolutely corporal we need the best possible in order to defeat this alien menace." Joe and several other marines loaded the missile onto the transport. "Ok it looks like we've got enough stuff to last us a long time. Let's go back and make sure that Kyle and his team are alright.

There was a long column of armor gliding down the street as the Covenant prepare to attack the city hall. Kyle and his entourage of minutemen were ready to spring their trap. The civilians on the opposite side of the road would launch the fireworks and run back to the base. While the Covenant was distracted Kyle and the remaining soldiers and police officers would launch a flank assault on the line of armor.

The first bottle rocket went off followed by an intense stream of fireworks that was meant to confuse the Covenant. The entire of line of covenant immediately hugged the right side of the road. The marines and combatants dropped grenades down on the enemy. The beginning of the assault was going exactly as planned. The covenant line of armor was decimated beneath them. The remaining enemy infantry broke in through the front door. Several marines and officers waited at the top of the stairs to repel the remaining resistance.

The grunts were leading in their normal position up front. There were roughly seventeen, each of which was easily mowed down. The jackals that were behind formed a defensive wall moving slowly up the stair case. "Kyle we got a lot of bogeys over here and they aren't dying."

Kyle looked back to see the wall of covenant surging up the stairwell. He grabbed one of the frag grenades he had and ran to the top of the stairs. The covenant had just moved onto the landing below them and were putting suppressive fire on the marines up top. He pulled the pin of the frag, waited a moment and then tossed the grenade. It wobbled spinning through the air for what seem like forever. It bounced of the wall and hopped at the feet of the covenant squad. Boom. The frag exploded sending a shower of burning hot metal in all directions. The pieces ripped through the jackals' weak flesh sending splatters of blood all over the wall. When the smoke cleared there wasn't a single survivor. The marines made sure that all the covenant were dead before taking position at the top of the stairs again.

Kyle went back to the other room where his marksmen were taking out any of the Covenant that were remaining out on the street. Several groups of the Covenant infantry regrouped and were hiding in the hotel across the street. Kyle was sure that they had already radioed for help. Sure enough within a few minutes the Covenant were back, and this time they had dropships and Banshees. The first group of Banshees flew over their hideout without firing at them.

"I guess they don't know we're here." said one of the privates. He held his assault rifle close and peered out the window. There were two other squadrons of Banshees right behind the two scouts. "Oh, shit get down!" The soldier dove under a nearby table as the rocket hit the side of the building. The walls shook as round after round hit the building. The outer wall crumbled and slide off of the building. The covenant infantry immediately moved from their hiding place to climb the rubble and eliminated any survivors.

"Status report." Kyle said as he made sure they were alright. The rockets had shaken up most everybody but no one was injured.

"Sir, we don't have any casualties and the electronics are still functional. The covenant forces are advancing up the debris to our position." The marine said as he pointed out the new hole in the wall toward the enemy.

"Alright, get ready everybody. We need to hold out until Joe gets back to provide air support." Kyle flipped over the table that they had been hiding under and used it as a temporary shield. They didn't have to worry about anyone coming up the stairs behind them because they had collapsed during the attack. They moved all the furniture they could get their hands on before taking a stand behind the barricade. They had their weapons raised and ready before the Covenant entered the building.

The Covenant squads were in groups of three grunts and an Elite. Three squads quickly entered the area and were soon mowed down. The grunts were finished in a matter of second, but the Elites were tough to handle. Kyle tossed a frag over the barricade which hit the floor in front of the Elites sending a shower of debris into their shields. Their shields flickered and turned off before the bullets from the marines assault rifle tore through the Elite's relatively soft flesh. The Elites fell, each with several bullet holes in the chest and face. The marines started to cheer but it was short lived, there were Hunters advancing up the slopes. They were going to need a little more firepower.

"Hey, toss me over the launcher"

"Ok, but you only got two shots make 'em count." Kyle took aim at the first of the Hunter pair advancing. He slowly squeezed the trigger and let the rocket go. It caught the beast right under the armor in its weak midsection where it detonated sending showers of worms and gore. The second Hunter roared in anger as he charged up the slope. Kyle was getting ready to fire the second shot when the Hunter let a round go from its fuel rod gun. The shot was poorly aimed and missed everyone but it was enough to throw off Kyle's aim. The rocket went slightly over the living tank's head and struck a gathered group of Covenant.

"I think were in trouble. What do we do now?" asked Kyle as he hid behind the crumbled wall. The little protection it gave was about to become nothing.

"I have an idea" said Jessica. She stood up tried to draw the attention of the hunter. Unfortunately when she got up the hunter was a lot closer than she had expected. The lumbering beast shouldered her into the wall. She hit the wall fell slumped over. Kyle got up and shoved the shotgun into the back of the distracted Hunter. He pulled the trigger several times unloading the shot gun into the back of the Hunter. The beast turned around and smacked him into the wall next to Jessica where he fell unconscious.

Corporal Raine was not the most courageous of the military personnel in the city, but he was fairly good at wielding a fire arm. When the attack had started he had easily picked off several of the Elite leaders. When the Banshees came overhead and bombed out the building he had remained under the table immobilized by fear. He remained there as Kyle eliminated the first hunter and after the second hunter hit Jessica into the wall. He was immobilized by the fear that had overtaken him.

Then the hunter had smacked Kyle into the wall knocking him out. The Hunter was preparing to finish off the pair of soldiers when Raine finally snapped out of it. He sprinted across the room and unsheathed his combat knife. He jumped onto the back of the tank and stabbed it in the throat. He repeatedly stabbed the living armor before it finally fell at his feet. The hulking beast fell face first in front of the Corporal' CO.

He ran quickly to Kyle's side. "Sir, are you alright?" Kyle did not respond. From what Raine could tell Kyle had concussion. "Medic" He called to the soldier nearby. One of the two medics that they had ran over to him.

"What happened to him?"

"There were a group of hunters" Raine said pointing out the dead beasts. "One of them hit him with a massive swing, but not before shouldering her into the wall as well. He pointed to Jessica who also lay unconscious. The medic assessed the condition of the two soldiers.

"I'm going to need to take Kyle. He has a concussion and he's bleeding from the rear of his head. Jessica appears to be fine just unconscious. If you get her to come to, she should be fine." The medic motioned over another soldier who quickly crouch-walked over to them. The two soldiers picked up the unconscious soldier and carried him over to the make shift infirmary that they had set up in the kitchen of the floor.

"Jessica, Jessica, wake up, come on wake up." The corporal lightly shook her trying to get her back to consciousness.

"What, What happened?" Jessica asked, barely conscious.

"You attempted to distract that hunter and he shouldered you into the wall. Kyle shotgun it in the back before being backhanded next to you and I finished it off." Jessica shook her head to clear her vision. The entire room was brought back into focus. She saw the giant hole where the East wall used to be and remembered the Banshee attack.

"Good work soldier. I'll put you up for a promotion when we get back how about that. Now if you could get the troops prepared for the coming counter attack I'm going to go see Kyle.

"Ma'am I wouldn't advise that. He's in the infirmary with the medic. It's not to severe or anything but the doc probably doesn't want you to interfere with what he is doing."

"You're right. Besides there is nothing I could do to help anyway." She and the Corporal rallied the men. Setting them up in strategic points to help defend the building. The Covenant would undoubtedly be back for more soon and when they did come back the soldiers would be ready.

The pelicans were coming in low when they approached the small city. They saw the banshees and phantoms that were coming from the Covenant cruiser.

"Hey Joe what are we going to do?" Asked the pilot. Joe pondered the thought for a moment before deciding on a plan.

"Ok, hold your course. When the banshees come into range you launch your missiles at them and keep going."

"Ok, but what if we don't get them all?"

"Don't worry about that I have it all figured out."

The pilot maintained his heading toward the city where everyone was holed up. The banshees were heading in that direction as well. Fortunately for the pelicans they were moving slowly. The marines caught the Banshees very quickly. The pilot let loose a hail of missiles and gunfire. The front of the reinforcement group disintegrated into a tiny cloud of dust. The other Banshee escort however were taking up positions behind the pelican. The pilot saw the plasma and started to strafe trying to stay away from the bolts of plasma.

The pilot suddenly saw a flash of blue and white light and saw the wreckage of the banshee that was chasing them plummet to the ground below them. The pilot turned to look out the side window at one of the other transports. Then he saw what happened. Out of the back of the pelican shot a rocket right at the Banshee escort. The missile broke through the middle of the Banshee. And exploded inside the center of the enemy vehicle. The shrapnel showered the banshees behind it. The other Banshees dodged to prevent their own destruction.

The Banshees swept around to come in for another pass but the soldiers in the back had it covered. Several missiles shot out the rear of the aircraft impacting the Covenant aircraft within half a second. There was no time to react for the enemy pilots. As soon as enemy aircraft came into target range it was immediately shot down. The Pelicans seized this opportunity to launch an attack on the troop transports. The missiles streaked across the sky leaving a white exhaust trail in their wake. The missiles struck the side of the enemy vehicle, completely destroying the outer wall. It didn't take long for smoke to start pouring out of the Phantom. The Phantoms rear thrusters failed momentarily and caused the ship to dive. The sputtered online just enough to propel the ship even faster into the ground. The ship exploded sending shards of metal in every direction.

The remainder of the Covenant attack force began to pull out. The soldiers on the ground cheered as the light from the enemy's thrusters disappeared over the horizon. Joe looked onto the ground from the Pelican they were standing in. The collateral damaged was light compared to what he had expected. They had done well. Unfortunately he knew that they were going to come back. When they did it wouldn't be a small squadron of attack craft. It would be a full battalion. Several armored divisions interlaid with infantry and scouts divisions. The Covenant had full air superiority. They had barely gotten away with getting through this time. Joe knew they would never be able to pull it off again.

"Kyle. The Pelicans are going to return to base and we are going to start to unload the weaponry. Once you guys have secured the area fall back to our HQ and we'll talk there."

"Roger that Joe, we're just finishing up here. Shouldn't be more than an hour."

"Oh, sorry Jessica. Where's Kyle at? He's not…. Is he."

"No Joe he's fine just a big lump on the back of his head. We'll get things stabilized over here and then join you back at base."

"Ok see you guys in a little bit. Joe out." The Pelicans flew over the military

personnel on the ground. They flew over several buildings and disappeared. Jessica turned to the soldiers who were behind her.

"Where do you want us ma'am?"

"Just sweep the area and take care of any stranglers. Once you've secured the area report back here and await further orders."

"Yes, ma'am." The soldiers saluted and cautiously made their way out of the building onto the street. Jessica walked across the room and back to the kitchen where the medic was still working with Kyle.

"How is he?"

"He should be fine" said the medic whose face was scrunched up as he tried to think of what they should do. "I believe we should get a warthog and drive him back to base. He needs a little bit of rest and energy to recover from the amount of blood he's lost." Jessica returned to the main room in order to request the transport.

Corporal Raine was outside with several other groups of soldiers scanning the battlefield for any Covenant still alive. They were just about to go in when one of the privates yelled that he had found something. The rest of the personnel walked over to see the private dragging a wounded Elite out from under the rubble. The soldier took out his pistol aimed at the head of the Elite and pulled the trigger. The rest of the story is a bit hazy here. Some people believe it was just plain luck, others call it intuition. Raine, he says that he saw something moving and wasn't sure what it was and shot.

Raine had his DMR ready when he noticed a blur moving in front of his vision. He wasn't the most trained soldier but he had heard that the Elites had the best active camo. He brought up his weapon and fired at a space in front of where the blur had been. The round broke through the Elite's depleted shields and tore a hole in its head. The alien crumpled right behind the soldier who had executed the other Elite.

"Form up guys, there might be more." The soldiers all formed a neat circle formation and moved slowly toward the entrance of their holdout. There were occasional shots from scared privates but other than that there was nothing else outside of the broken building. When they returned the group inside was just getting ready to leave. They moved Kyle slowly toward the entrance where a the warthogs were just arriving. Kyle was placed lightly in the back of a transport hog. While the rest of the soldiers were put in regular warthogs and made to provide covering fire if necessary.

Upon their return to the City hall Joe and his group had finished storing the weapons and ammo. They stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to entrance. The soldiers hopped out of the vehicles. Several of them carefully pulled out Kyle. They carried him up the stairs and into the infirmary that they had set up.

"Jessica. Get over here ASAP I need your help with something." Joe motioned her over to where he was standing. "Come take a walk with me there are some things that we need to discuss." The two of them walked away as the marines finished putting away Joe's new toy into the armory.


End file.
